The Other Line
by Graceful Dream
Summary: Spinoff of The Line By dutchesscourtney. Same characters, different plot. A colorguard member met with drama from her social life and the life of her friend, Lucy, a girl on drumline. Please read if you enjoyed The Line as much as I did.
1. Chapter 1

1Chapter 1**: Sore, in more ways than one.**

Mandy stared blankly out the window at the passing trees.

_...tree...tree...tree..._

She looked puzzled. It was as if she was pondering human existence, her gaze so hard. The blue honda pulling up to the parking lot, full of mini-vans and SUVs. Mandy got out, grabbing her equipment bag from the backseat. She started across the lot, locking her car on her way out.

_What will happen this time..._ She thought to herself.

She tried hard to seem enthused. She really did. Somehow, last weeks break-up with Spence, would not stop haunting her. Perhaps because the tall, percussionist stood a whopping 100 feet from her. She held her breath as she passed him. They didn't speak. They didn't make eye-contact. They acted as if they had never met. It nearly killed her to see him, and have to act like she didn't still have feelings for him. She walked into the busy band room, wearing a slightly tightlipped smile. The last thing she wanted was an interrogation by Kelly, the captain. She passed the various sections without notice. Walking out to the hall she was abruptly greeted by several girls tackling her to the ground.

"So, how have ya been holding up?" Was one girl's question.

" How's Spence? Was another's. _Ouch. Sore subject._

"Erm...He's...fine, I think." Was Mandy's reply.

"You think? What's that all about?" Was the question of a tall dark haired girl in oversized aviators, obviously the captain, Kelly.

" We broke up last week." Mandy said meekly.

The group stared at her, wide-eyed.

_I know what a goldfish feels like now._ Was her immediate thought.

"You're joking, right?" Was Kelly's solemn conclusion.

"Erm...yea, it's true. And I would rather talk about something else. I'm trying to deal with this calmly, and rationally. Which does not include an entire guard sectional of crying and gallons of ice cream. Alright? I'm fine, Kel." I lied.

_It was just a little white lie..._

"Alright girls. Grab your equipment and head outside." Demanded Kelly, attempting to transition to a new subject.

Distracted, Kelly and Mandy were the last out to practice. Awkward silence followed Mandy wherever she went.

"Set up the block. Start warming up with the flourish exercise. Four drop spins, right hand flourish, four drop spins, left hand flourish and 4 drop spins. Set!" Kelly barked at the group of girls. "DON'T MOVE AT SET!" Was another bark.

"Sickkkk..." Mandy groaned. She knew she had to whether or not she wanted to. Mandy's dream was to be captain one day, and she wasn't about to let a little flourishes get in her way of making the best impression possible.

"I thought I said "SET", Mandy? But I know someone who wanted the captain position wouldn't be talking while at Set." Kelly said sarcastically, inches from Mandy's face.

"Of course not."Mandy responded smiling , eyes facing forward, perfectly still. Just when she thought her day was getting better, the drumline passed through the gate. Her eyes blurred, wet. She shook her head.

_I have to do this...with or without him_.

AFTER PRACTICE

After practice, Kelly came up to Mandy. She tried to walk faster. She wanted so badly to get in that car and drive away. To miss her by a minute and escape the conversation She knew was coming. But, she wasn't fast enough.

"Mandy! Mandy, wait up! I have to talk to you." shouted Kelly from the group behind her.

She slowed. She knew she didn't have a chance as far as ditching her now.

"Yeah? Hurry..I have to get home soon. People to see." Mandy lied, getting desperate.

She approached Mandy eventually, taking her sweet time.

"I wanted to see if you were okay." Kelly inquired.

"I told you and the other girls I was, didn't I?" Mandy replied. "I've gotta go. I have things to get done at home. I'm a busy girl." She said turning on her heel, leaving the situation as complex as it had started.

"What am I going to do with you, Mandy?" Kelly shouted over the blaring radio of Mandy's car.

"Hopefully nothing soon." Mandy said smiling as she pulled out of the lot.

Mandy pulled up to the mailbox, grabbed the mail and pulled into the driveway. After a brief key-hunt she unlocked the door.

_Bill, Bill, Bill…and of course nothing for me._

She tossed the mail on the countertop and walked to her room. There, she kicked off her shoes, grabbing her laptop. Signing on, she noticed her pal, Lucy, online.

GuardGirl24: hey luce.

Bassgirl17: hey manders.

GuardGirl24: whats new?

Bassgirl17 : not much.

GuardGirl24: fun.

Bassgirl17: you know it. ;)

GuardGirl24: haha.

Bassgirl17: sorry bout you and spence.

GuardGirl24: its ok. it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Bassgirl17 : still, heartbreak is never fun.

Guard Girl24: yeah. I can't help but think there was someone else. You know?

Bassgirl17: yeah…

GuardGirl24: brb.

: k

_GuardGirl24 is away_

Mandy scurried off the bed, changed into pj's, and grabbed some ice cream on the way back.

_GuardGirl24 returned from away_

GuardGirl24: back

Bassgirl17: yep..

GuardGirl24: you okay luce?

Bassgirl17: right as rain, why?

GuardGirl24: No reason. Just wondering, you seem kinda down.

BassGirl17: yeah, well after last season's drama… I'm not exactly looking forward to this season.Unlike some people:)

GuardGirl24: haha very funny. Other than my most recent..erm…dilemma I am very excited. Anyway, I g2g. ttyl lucy.

BassGirl17: alright. Gnight.

_GuardGirl24 has signed off._

On the other side of the computer, Lucy looked at the screen with sad eyes. She knew she would have to tell Mandy sooner or later about Spence, but when? She closed the computer lid and set it on the floor. She got up and turned out the light, and got into bed dreading the next day. She eventually close her eyes and went to sleep.

Mandy carefully set the laptop down and got under the covers with a fresh spiral bound notebook and a pen ready to start a new journal.

_I miss hanging out with Spence. I miss his hugs. I miss having someone there to keep me warm during fall competitions, and someone to cheer me on during the winter. I wish I knew what he was thinking…_

…And with that she drifted off to sleep.

2 weeks later…

As the end of the week approached, Mr. Izzo gathered everyone around before practice ended for a quick run through of things to go over and to remind everyone of upcoming events.

"Attention everyone. Can I please have everyone's attention?" He said loudly.

The entire ensemble shut up eager to hear Mr. Izzo's comments.

"I used to come to practice with this ensemble scared. After tonight, I am not scared anymore. Interpret that how you like, but know you have all made me a very proud man. As far as upcoming events, We were invited yesterday to participate in a neighborhood parade, which takes place on Saturday. Note that it is not nationally televised so don't make a big deal out of it. Focus almost all of your energy to your show. Not all though, because South was invited too. Keep that in mind as the parade gets closer. I have negotiated with the other directors and we will be going informally due to the lack of new shoes for the freshman, as will south and any other bands participating, as far as I know. Awesome practice guys, go home!" He shouted.

The entire group cheered.

Saturday

Everyone met up bright and early at 6 o'clock to prep for this parade. All dressed in shirts with the ensemble logo, blue jeans and white shoes, they all looked uniformly informal. At 8 everyone sardine packed themselves onto the buses that took us a mere 3 miles up the road for the parade starting point. The drum majors lined everyone up and the section lieutenants warmed up their sections. As everyone was getting ready to leave, they heard a distant drumbeat. As the drumbeat got louder, up over the hill marched South's band. The ensemble marched right past Brookwood, which was not a problem. The problem lay in the fact that South marched right past Brookwood in full uniform. Mr. Izzo went red. Really red. He then said some things that should not be repeated. He should have known that the other band's director couldn't be trusted.

The parade started, and everyone was steaming. All around them bands warmed up, bands in full uniform. They were the only ones dressed informally. They tried there best to look professional even though they were severely underdressed. They decided that it was more important to have fun and excite the crowd then show up South. Days later Mr. Izzo informed them that, without his notification the other band directors had met and re-decided to go formal knowing Brookwood had no choice. Once he knew that he made on simple decision. They had to kill them. In competition, I mean. They had to go to competitions and just murder everyone else. It was only fair.

_I look forward to reviews so far! Don't get discouraged, it will get more exciting! Thanks to dutchesscourtney for this AWESOME opportunity. :) Much love, Graceful Dream_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2**: Early bird gets the Worm…**

Mandy pried her eye open to see the clock. The numbers 8:15, burning themselves into her retina.

"OH MY GOD!" flew out of her mouth, jumping out of bed. "I'm late!" She informed the empty house.

Hair still damp, make-up freshly applied she grabbed her stuff and ran to the car, where she drove to school on the foggy, less than legal side of the speed limit and managed to get to her second period class without dying on the way. Lunch came, as if too soon. There she stumbled upon Lucy quietly munching her lunch in the grass.

"Hey." Mandy said.

"Oh! Hey! Where were you this morning?" Lucy inquired.

"Woke up late, to an empty house and a half tank of gas." Mandy said smirking.

"Interesting. Up late after our convo or just overly, unusually sleepy?" asked Lucy.

"Not really, I journal-ed for a bit then went to bed. I guess I just didn't want to get up." Said Mandy, sighing.

"Oh weird. You being the guardie I know you are, are usually full of energy. How else do you chuck that flag so high?" Lucy said chuckling.

"Oh I know. I can chuck that thing so high because I have muscles." Mandy said confidently poking her upper arm and raising her eyebrows a few times to emphasize the point.

"And I don't?" Lucy joked.

"You have more than me. I'm just saying it takes a special kind of muscle to throw objects around and catch'em while booking it across a plastic field, that's all Luce." Mandy joked back with a smile thinking about the numerous times she had attempted to teach Lucy anything about tossing and watching her hit herself in the forehead. Then again, she wasn't near as good as Lucy when it came to all things drumming.

"Well I gotta go, I have class in a couple of minutes. Plans this evening?" She questioned.

"Umm… I have practice till 6, but then I'm free." Mandy told her.

" Dinner at WaHo?" Lucy said.

"Pick me up from practice?" Mandy asked.

"Sure thing. See ya there." Lucy replied as she waved Mandy off and trotted to her next class.

She picked up her things and walked to her next class.

AFTER PRACTICE

Mandy sat with her equipment bag on the corner. That practice ran through her mind again and again. They were really behind. With first competition only 10 days away, they needed to kick it into high gear. The work they were learning was at the very least ten times harder than the previous seasons work, so it took twice as long to learn. At the same time, that was no excuse for only having the first songs work learned and memorized. She overheard Mr. Izzo speaking with a group of students about the first major football game on Friday against South, the rival band. She overheard the half-time show plan was the second song, which the band had already learned, and the guard had not. She informed Kelly, who didn't seem worried. Didn't seem anyway. At practice before they got let out, there was a major pep talk.

"Okay girls. The plan for Friday is the second song. We all know there is not a whole lot we can do as far as changing the band plans. I'm not totally sure what we are going to do yet, but until then I need five thousand percent from all of you at every practice. I need a ton of effort. Hit your sets harder. Do your work better, Run when we reset. No complaining. No, I repeat, NO talking on the field. We are a fun group and we have a good time, but we need to crack down and get work done. I don't want to go to first competition incomplete, but I would rather go with quality incompleteness, than a poor quality, poor work, poorly exhibited whole show. Since it is first competition, they won't dock us points for not competing with the whole show. However, If we don't do the whole show, it needs to be incredible. Not great. Not good. Amazing. We can only get better at later competitions. Remember that. You guys can go now." Kelly finally took a breath, waving everyone goodbye.

Mandy heard a loud honking noise and snapped out of her daydream to see Lucy waving at her to get in the car.

"Sorry, we had a…difficult practice. I have had it on my mind since we got out." Lucy said shaking her head in attempt to shake away her drowsy-ness.

"Oh that's cool. I bet you guys look good out there. I hear you guys are working a lot harder this year." Lucy said.

"You bet we are. Our instructors guarantee, there won't be a single guard in our division with work anywhere near our level at any competitions." Mandy said, beaming with pride.

"Wow. I can't wait." Lucy replied, as they pulled into WaHo's parking lot.

They walked inside, a got a small table in the back. After a filling dinner they climbed back into Lucy's car.

"I totally need a girls night out. How about we plan another night like this for Friday after the game?" Mandy inquired.

"Sure thing. It'll be nice to get out. I haven't in a while. Do you mind hanging with the guys for a bit before though?" said Lucy.

"Nah, not a problem. I'm in need of some boy-hunting anyway." Mandy replied with a smile.

"I doubt you'll get anywhere with these guys, after you and Spence were together for so long." Lucy concluded.

Mandy, grinning ear to ear, "a girl can hope."

Lucy smiled back. "Haha. Only you, Mandy. Only you."

_I looooooove reviews. I really do. Lemme know what you think. _

_Graceful Dream_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3**: TGIF, man. TGIF.**

The game came and went, as per usual. As 10:30 approached, Mandy managed to pry herself from her warm seat between various cute band boys and pack her things. She whipped out her trusty cell phone.

"…We're not home right now, but feel free to leave us a message and we will get back to you."

"Oh, hey mom. It's Amanda. Just a quick reminder I'm staying at Luce's tonight for a midnight study session. So before you call the police because you obviously forgot, check the answering machine. Any who, I love you much and I will see you tomorrow. Byes." Was her usual message to her mother on Friday evenings.

_Pfft…study session. That's funny . . . _Snorted Mandy to herself.

She jumped as she heard a familiar whistle from the band room door.

"Gimme a sec, Luce." Mandy hollered back at her.

"Kay, hurry up! I want to get a good table! And The guys won't wait much longer!" Lucy shouted back to the voice from around the corner.

"Alright, Alright all ready. Sheesh. Unlike you, Miss Drumline USA, I still take an hour to do anything and everything." Mandy giggled.

They raced each other to the car, as the feeling of Friday finally washed over their tired minds and fun took over. They proceeded to scream the lyrics to every song on the radio on the way there, and of course not anywhere close to in tune. They pulled into the nearly full Waffle House parking lot. As they passed through the double doors leading to the restaurant the reek of syrup and other breakfast foods overwhelmed them.

Lucy peered around looking for her familiar clan of drumline boys and found them within mere seconds. Nearly ripping Mandy's arm out of its socket was not an issue when it came to the drumline and Lucy. Mandy Sighed.

_Why did I agree to this…_

She immediately snapped out of her self-absorbed haze and sat down not realizing what was going on outside her brain. She smiled at the familiar faces, and tried to act friendly aroun the new. Of the new, she noticed a new snare, a girl. She raised her eyebrows in curiosity. Curiosity was Mandy's middle name.

Peering across the room she noticed an unfamiliar face. A cute face, none the less, but still unfamiliar. As unknown cute boy turned around she saw his too familiar jacket. SOUTH BAND was blocked out on the back of his letterman.

_Well that ended that before it even started…_

She pondered to herself.

Would she be stuck alone forever?

_Sorry about the wait! I have been so busy with my own season I have been kinda spacey. More where this came from… Reviews! I love them! Thanks to my fans; you make me feel so special! Graceful Dream_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4**: A Worthy Distraction…**

Before they knew it, Homecoming came and went. Mandy, still boyfriendless tried to focus on other aspects of the bus ride, like the weather…or the stack of Chem. homework in front of her.

_Who am I kidding? Me? Do chem. homework? Willingly? Where's Lucy when I need her?_

The buses pulled into a foggy familiar parking lot and the band kids poured out. Sporting her newly purchased BROOKWOOD COLORGUARD jacket and flip flops she made her way to the stadium. Call time was a ways away, so she had better get some quality boyscoping done while she had time.

She walked by South's Trumpet line warming up. She stopped to listen and caught the eye of a tall, dark haired green eyed cutie headed her way.

"You know, you're being very distracting just standing there. Half of my trumpet line can hardly keep from drooling."

"Well I am very sorry. I didn't realize your trumpets had an eye for what they can't have." Mandy retorted, toying.

"Well what about me?"

"What about you?"

He put a muscular hand out. She hesitated, but shook it.

…_Who shakes hands? Hmmm…_

_HP_

"You said an eye for what they can't have? Does that apply to drum majors as well?"

"Well aren't you forward."

"I'm sorry. Let me try this again. Hello, I am a drum major who happened to notice you , an attractive yet worthy distraction walking by my band,"

"Wait, your band? You're South's drum major?"

"In the flesh." He smirked.

"I have to go."

"Why?"

"Because if anyone sees me, a Brookwood guard girl, with you, the South drum major they might assume something is going on between us. Which if you didn't know, is mutiny in my band. In case you hadn't heard about last years Lucy and Sam drama."

" So lets cease assumptions then, shall we?"

"What are you implying?"

"Dinner at WaHo. You and Me. Tonight?"

"And you're sure no one will flip if they see us there together? Because I know I'm going to have an awfully lot of explaining to do as it is."

"I promise."

"Well than I guess I'll see you aat dinner, nameless one? How about 8:30?"

_This was all coming so suddenly. Either he was really experienced or just overly confident. Regardless…she had a date!_

" Sounds good. Bad form on my part. The name's Derek. And you are?"

" Mandy."

"Its nice to meet you. Now that we've formally met, I have to go but it was nice staring at you. See you tonite."

Another smile.

_Man, he's scoring points left and right…_

"Bye Derek!" she waved.

She strolled off happily. She had to tell Lucy, after all, _it's not everyday a hot drum major waltzes up to and asks you to dinner._ She grinned. This was gonna be a great night regardless of the winner.

Short chapter, I know. Never the less eventful. Reviews, comments, suggestions? How do you like Derek? I promise more updates soon. Graceful Dream A big thank you to dutchesscourtney for the mention!


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